Thursday, April 05, 2007

Free Stuff

Sunday, January 07, 2007

You Get What You Think You Bought

Recent research has found, you get what you think you paid for. All of us judge products based on our beliefs and expectations, which have been shaped over time by experience. For instance, many consumers have developed an expectation (conscious or unconscious) that cheap products and services will be less effective.

Saturday, January 06, 2007

How to go to M.I.T. for free

By Gregory M. Lamb, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Thu Jan 4, 3:00 AM ETBy the end of this year, the contents of all 1,800 courses taught at one of the world's most prestigious universities will be available online to anyone in the world, anywhere in the world. Learners won't have to register for the classes, and everyone is accepted.ADVERTISEMENTThe cost? It's all free of charge.The OpenCourseWare movement, begun at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2002 and now spread to some 120 other universities worldwide, aims to disperse knowledge far beyond the ivy-clad walls of elite campuses to anyone who has an Internet connection and a desire to learn.

Friday, December 29, 2006

Internet search veterans go to colleges to stay hip

BERKELEY, United States (AFP) - Aging Internet pioneers are searching for fountains of youth on college campuses in a bid to stay hip and innovative in the fierce technology marketplace.ADVERTISEMENTIn a competitive tactic that marries marketplace rules of engagement with boundless student creativity, technology titans are setting up research centers at universities.When Yahoo opened a lab at the University of California, Berkeley campus in July 2005 it was the second of its kind there.The San Jose, California-based computer chip maker Intel had already set up shop.Yahoo went on to establish similar ties with Universidad Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain, and at University of Chile in Santiago.

Thursday, December 28, 2006

LaLa Sings My Song!

In a bizarre amalgamation of virtual and physical business, the dying independent terrestrial turned internet radio station WOXY is being revived by online CD swapping service Lala. Lala is tangible evidence that online music doesn’t have to kill the CD industry. At first I was skeptical, but after spending more time on the site I think this radio strategy is very smart. See also our previous coverage of the company here.Lala users identify CDs they want mailed to them for $1 plus 75 cents shipping. Other users who have those CDs available for swapping are notified and put them in the mail. Lala keeps the dollar and donates a portion of it (as much as $50k in a month so far) to a Foundation that supports artists. Users can also chose to purchase CDs for immediate delivery.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Brain training can have lasting benefits

CHICAGO - Brief sessions of brain exercise can have long-lasting benefits for elderly people, helping them stay mentally fit for at least five years, one of the most rigorous tests of the "use-it-or-lose-it" theory suggests.ADVERTISEMENT

For people age 73 on average, just 10 sessions — less time than it takes to stay physically fit — helped keep their brains sharp.

The brain training involved hour-long classes and included exercises done on a computer. While it is uncertain if similar results would occur with mental exercise done at home, other research has shown that intellectual tasks such as crossword puzzles and reading can help keep the brain sharp as people grow old.

The study is "the toughest test of these hypotheses to date," said Jeff Elias, chief of cognitive aging at the behavioral science research branch of the National Institute on Aging, which helped pay for the $15 million study.

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Online shrine visits stir debate in Japan

TOKYO (Reuters) - Does god exist in cyberspace?

Japanese are split on the issue as an increasing number of Shinto shrines offer virtual visits on Web sites and sell amulets online.

Alarmed by the services, the Tokyo-based Association of Shinto Shrines plans to issue either a report or guidelines next year on shrines' use of the Internet, the Yomiuri Shimbun daily said in its English edition on Sunday.

The group, which supervises around 80,000 shrines across the country, sent out notices in July saying: "No Shinto god exists on the Internet."

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Exploring the joys of expatriate life

Ten years ago this week — back at a time when I was a couple years out of college and at a professional dead-end in life — I packed my essentials into two suitcases and moved to Busan,South Korea. The weeks that immediately followed in my new Asian hometown proved to be among the strangest of my life up to that point. Suddenly thrown into a new environment, unable to speak the language or grasp the nuances of the culture, I was like a child again. All sense of self-sufficiency vanished as the simplest activities — shopping, taking the bus, ordering food — turned into complicated challenges. Away from home, away from the rehearsed responses and instinctive comforts of a familiar place, day-to-day life became entirely unpredictable and intensely real

Friday, December 15, 2006

Kids With High IQs Grow Up to Be Vegetarians

By Steven ReinbergHealthDay Reporter2 hours, 4 minutes ago

FRIDAY, Dec. 15 (HealthDay News) -- As a child's IQ rises, his taste for meat in adulthood declines, a new study suggests.

British researchers have found that children's IQ predicts their likelihood of becoming vegetarians as young adults -- lowering their risk for cardiovascular disease in the process. The finding could explain the link between smarts and better health, the investigators say.

"Brighter people tend to have healthier dietary habits," concluded lead author Catharine Gale, a senior research fellow at the MRC Epidemiology Resource Centre of the University of Southampton and Southampton General Hospital.

New York Times Surrenders To Social News

The New York Times has decided to let users post stories directly from their site to Digg, Facebook, and Newsvine. As of Monday, the paper will embed links to all three sites to most of their online stories.

The new link will not be embedded into stories used on the paper’s premium content site, TimesSelect, staff blogs or wire stories.

Wikia Announces Free Wiki Hosting

Wikia founder Jimmy Wales believes in “free content for all.” That is why the company launched OpenServing today, a service that is giving away complete Web hosting support to any wiki developer - for free!

OpenServing allows anyone to setup and maintain their own collaborative site. Wales told TechCrunch in a phone call today that OpenServing is also intended to go beyond wiki hosting to include free software, free applications, etc. “Basically, anything goes into the model of free culture,” he said.

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Smashing the Clock

No schedules. No mandatory meetings. Inside Best Buy's radical reshaping of the workplace

By Michelle ConlinBusinessWeek Online

One afternoon last year, Chap Achen, who oversees online orders at Best Buy Co., shut down his computer, stood up from his desk, and announced that he was leaving for the day. It was around 2 p.m., and most of Achen's staff were slumped over their keyboards, deep in a post-lunch, LCD-lit trance. "See you tomorrow," said Achen. "I'm going to a matinee."

Under normal circumstances, an early-afternoon departure would have been totally un-Achen. After all, this was a 37-year-old corporate comer whose wife laughs in his face when he utters the words "work-life balance." But at Best Buy's Minneapolis headquarters, similar incidents of strangeness were breaking out all over the ultramodern campus. In employee relations, Steve Hance had suddenly started going hunting on workdays, a Remington 12-gauge in one hand, a Verizon LG in the other. In the retail training department, e-learning specialist Mark Wells was spending his days bombing around the country following rocker Dave Matthews. Single mother Kelly McDevitt, an online promotions manager, started leaving at 2:30 p.m. to pick up her 11-year-old son Calvin from school. Scott Jauman, a Six Sigma black belt, began spending a third of his time at his Northwoods cabin.

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Money and Me, Me, Me

By Greg MillerScienceNOW Daily News16 November 2006

It's often said that money changes people. Now a team of experimental psychologists has found that just thinking of money changes people. With money on their minds, experimental subjects became more focused on themselves--in both good ways and bad.

Psychologist Kathleen Vohs says she started thinking about the psychology of money when she moved from a postdoctoral position to her first faculty job. The big salary increase meant she could hire a mover instead of relying on help from friends. It certainly made the move easier, Vohs says, but she missed the camaraderie of sharing pizza and beer after a big group effort. The experience led her to hypothesize that while money makes people more independent, it can also act as an isolating social barrier.

Learning Increases Passion: When You Know More You Appreciate More

Learning music changes music. Learning about wine changes wine. Learning about Buddhism changes Buddhism. And learning Excel changes Excel.If we want passionate users, we might not have to change our products - we have to change how our users experience them.

And that change does not necessarily come from product design, development, and especially marketing.

It comes from helping users learn.

Learning adds resolution to what you offer. And the change happens not within the product, but between the user's ears. The more you help your users learn and improve, the greater the chance that they'll become passionate.

Friday, December 01, 2006

Amazing flame fractals take your breath away

China's Green Tech Boom

China's voracious appetite for energy, its growing contribution to global warming and gargantuan pollution problems present huge opportunities for green tech entrepreneurs and investors, according to a panel of venture capitalists and seasoned China hands who spoke this morning on...http://blogs.business2.com/greenwombat/2006/11/chinas_green_te.html

Monday, November 27, 2006

YouTube makes the move on TV's "old rich people"

When most of us think of YouTube, we think of crazy videos of skateboarders crashing, or pudgy teenagers pretending to be Star Wars action heroes. Such "user-created content" does make up a hefty part of YouTube's repository, but according to several demographic surveys, the types of people who are watching it are not what people might assume at first. In fact, ther're mostly the people that the TV networks hate to see leave.

According to an eMarketer audience report, the group of people who watch YouTube videos the most are the 35-64 group, at 54.5 percent. In contrast, people aged from 2-34 comprise 41.3 percent of YouTube viewers, with the 25-34 subgroup comprising 19.1 percent of the total. Kids aged 12-17 made up only 12.6 percent of the total.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Falls Have Become the Leading Cause of Injury Deaths for Seniors

Falls Have Become the Leading Cause of Injury Deaths for SeniorsThursday November 16, 2:49 pm ETCDC Report Reveals That Men More Likely to Experience Fatality Than WomenATLANTA, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Fall-related death rates for men and women 65 years and older increased significantly from 1993 to 2003, according to a report released today in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).In 2003, more than 13,700 older adults died from falls, making them the leading cause of injury deaths among people 65 and older. From 1993 to 2003 fatal falls increased by more than 55 percent -- with more men (46.2 percent) dying from falls than women (31.1 percent). The report also indicates that in 2003 almost 1.8 million seniors were treated in emergency departments for nonfatal injuries from falls and more than 460,000 were hospitalized. In 2000, the direct medical costs for falls among older adults were approximately $19 billion.

Wal-Mart adds 11 more states to $4 generics plan

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT - news) said on Thursday it would begin selling certain generic prescription drugs for $4 in 11 new states, including Massachusetts, bringing the total to 38 states.ADVERTISEMENTThe world's biggest retailer, which launched the $4 generic drug program in Florida in September, said the program would be available in Washington, Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia as of Thursday

Polar bear survival rate falls as climate warms: study

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Polar bear cubs in Alaska's Beaufort Sea are much less likely to survive compared to about 20 years ago, probably due to melting sea ice caused by global warming, a study released on Wednesday said.ADVERTISEMENTThe study, published by theU.S. Geological Survey, estimated that only 43 percent of polar bear cubs in the southern Beaufort Sea survived their first year during the past five years, compared to a 65 percent survival rate in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Personalized mini scrapbooks perfect for the holidays

Fall brings cooler weather and longer nights and makes me want to curl up with a good book. While I love the printed page, the addition of photos only makes a good thing better.And if the old saying is true - that a picture is worth a thousand words - just imagine the value if the picture is a photo and the words tell the story behind the photo. A scrapbook is the perfect combination of pictures and words, souvenirs and embellishments. And there's no better time to create a scrapbook than fall, when the natural lighting is perfect and visits with friends and family are likely. When most people are wondering how to hand make a pumpkin pie from scratch, you might turn your attention to a 5-by-7 inch mini book that you can personalize with your own two hands.

WARREN BUFFETT: THE BILLIONAIRE NEXT DOOR

CNBC′s Liz Claman Sits Down For A Rare Interview With Warren Buffett For A CNBC Special WARREN BUFFETT: THE BILLIONAIRE NEXT DOOR On Monday, November 20 At 8:00 pm And 11:00 pm ESTIn a rare interview with the world′s second richest person, Warren Buffet, CNBC anchor Liz Claman takes an inside look into his surprisingly simple life in WARREN BUFFETT: THE BILLIONAIRE NEXT DOOR, a CNBC one-hour special that will air on CNBC on Monday, November 20th at 8:00 PM and 11:00 PM ET.The result is an hour-long fascinating look at the man and an opportunity for CNBC viewers to learn firsthand from the world′s most famous investor.Buffet takes Claman on a personal tour of his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska from his grandfather′s store where he turned his first profit selling chewing gum and soda, to the $31,500 house he′s owned for almost a half-century. The unassuming billionaire says, "I like the way I was living when I was in my 20′s. I still like that way...I like to go home and put on a sweat suit."

Testing boosts recall, study says

The simple act of taking a test helps you remember everything you've learned, even if it's not on the test, new U.S. research suggests.In a study of 84 undergraduate students, psychologists at Washington University in St. Louis found that untested students recalled significantly less of what they had studied — even after having extra time to go over the material.Researchers argue in the November issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology that tests are more than efficient scoring tools. They are a "powerful memory enhancer."

Big boost to US renewable energy could cost nothing

Switching a large fraction of US energy to renewable sources by 2025 could involve no increase in cost, says an independent US think thank, as long as current price trends hold firm.Renewable sources currently provide about 6% of the energy used in the US. The new RAND report concludes this could be boosted to a total of 18% by 2025, equivalent to 25% of electricity and motoring fuel, at no extra cost. The provisos are that the price of renewable energy continues its downward trend and that predictions of future oil prices are roughly accurate.

Natural-born painkiller found in human saliva

Saliva from humans has yielded a natural painkiller up to six times more powerful than morphine, researchers say.The substance, dubbed opiorphin, may spawn a new generation of natural painkillers that relieve pain as well as morphine but without the addictive and psychological side effects of the traditional drug.

Friday, November 10, 2006

More college students taking Web courses

Roughly one in six students enrolled in higher education — about 3.2 million people — took at least one online course last fall, a sharp increase defying predictions that online learning growth is leveling off.

A new report scheduled for released Thursday by The Sloan Consortium, a group of colleges pursuing online programs, estimates that 850,000 more students took online courses in the fall of 2005 than the year before, an increase of nearly 40 percent. Last year, the group had reported slowing growth, prompting speculation the trend had hit a ceiling.

"The growth was phenomenal," said Jeff Seaman, Sloan's CIO and survey director, who also serves as co-director of the Babson College survey research group. "It's higher in absolute numbers and higher in percentages than anything we've measured before. And it's across the board," at schools ranging from doctoral institutions to those offering associate's degrees to for-profit colleges.

IBM accelerates push into 3D virtual worlds

ONDON (Reuters) - IBM is ramping up its push into virtual worlds with an investment of roughly $10 million over the next 12 months, including an expanded presence within the popular 3D online universe Second Life.ADVERTISEMENTChairman and Chief Executive Sam Palmisano is set to visit Second Life on Tuesday, following a "town hall" meeting with some 7,000 employees in China, and speak with the more than 250 IBM employees on one of the company's virtual islands.Second Life, where Reuters opened a bureau last month, is one of the best-known virtual worlds, with more than 1 million registered users and a well-established economy and currency. The equivalent of more than half a million U.S. dollars change hands there every day.IBM has already established the biggest Second Life presence of any Fortune 500 company. It uses the world primarilyfor training and meetings but has also built a simulation of theWimbledon tennis tournament.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Andy Grove's Wish List for Congress

For years, former Intel CEO Andrew Grove had the ear of politicians and chief executives worldwide. Dubbed by some the godfather of the personal computer, Grove played no small role in fomenting a revolution in how people live and play. Under his leadership, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC - News) turned out ever more powerful chips that now are making their way into everything from PCs to cell phones and TVs.ADVERTISEMENTToday, he's set a no less ambitious goal: to revolutionize the antiquated U.S. health-care system. For Grove, a survivor of prostate cancer who is now battling Parkinson's disease, it's an issue that hits close to home.

UK report: knowledge should be public good first, private right second

The UK is awaiting the release of a report by the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property, a task force charged with suggesting changes to the country's intellectual property laws. The formation of the commission has inspired a flurry of private books and reports on IP designed to influence debate on the subject. While many of these are exactly as interesting as you'd expect, a new report from the Institute for Public Policy Research offers a fascinating look at the reasons behind intellectual property rights and suggests a new way forward for Britain: thinking about knowledge as a public resource first, and a private asset second. Is this idealistic, anti-business pinko blue-skying? The group says no.

Australia To Tax Money From Second Life, But Can Money Spent On Your Avatar Be A Write-Off?

There continues to be a lot of discussion about the real world implications of activity inside virtual worlds. One of the issues is how to deal with taxation, and it appears that Australia has taken the lead, announcing that they plan to tax money made in virtual worlds, specifically citing Second Life Linden Dollars. A spokesperson for the country's tax office said that if you're getting monetary benefit from the site, then it should be taxed like any other income.

Finding Peace with Jainism

By Resham S KhianiLooking around in Western society, undoubtedly you can sense an abundance of spirituality been generated. Sipping herbal teas, meditating, consuming vegetarian food and countless benevolent acts of charities all ties in with improving ones spiritual wealth. Although such methods are ‘new’ for the West, the spiritual sect of Jainism has built their lives on attaining spiritual nirvana for over thousands of years. With similar spiritual beliefs it is not surprising that Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism are tossed into the melting pot. Yet there is a difference. A simple life, emphasis on non-violence coupled with constant meditation to improve one's self, produces a neat picture of Jainism.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Gannett, USA Today Wants Everyone To Write The News For Them

Gannett, USA Today Wants Everyone To Write The News For Themfrom the cheaper-this-way deptWe've been waiting for the newspaper industry to realize it needs to do more than just put their articles online and sell advertising, but figure out ways to better enhance their offering via adding features that were simply impossible without the internet. For example, recognize that rather than readers, many people are willing to be distributors of the news as well. Gannett, most well known as the publisher of USA Today and a bunch of other newspapers is now trying to do much more by better involving readers in writing the news as well. Obviously, the idea of citizen journalism has been discussed at length for a while, but perhaps not when it comes to a major newspaper chain. Gannett is reorganizing their news rooms to be more collaborative (something that should have happened long ago), but are also encouraging newsrooms to get the community involved in the reporting process as well.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Lancaster Conservatories

At Lancaster Conservatories our mission is to supply North Americans with some of the finest room additions in the world. We make it easy to bring the outdoors, indoors, with our conservatories. Our conservatories will be your favorite room in the house - whether it's your breakfast nook, hot tub room, recreational room or just a room to relax in.Why choose a solid mahogany conservatory from Lancaster Conservatories

Free Wheelchair Mission". . to provide the transforming gift of mobility to the physically disabled poor in developing countries."

TWENTY SEVEN YEARS AGO, the sight of a crippled Moroccan woman crawling across a dirt road planted a seed that germinated in 1999 when Don Schoendorfer, founder of Free Wheelchair Mission, invested his education and professional expertise as a PhD Mechanical Engineer to create a simple, rugged, and inexpensive wheelchair. The mental picture of the crawling woman's anguish and loss of dignity had haunted him for years until God opened a path for Dr. Schoendorfer.

The Top 10 Reasons for Soaring Health-Care Costs

by Charles WheelanUtility Links * Printable View * Email this PageWednesday, March 1, 2006[Charles Wheelan, Ph.D.]What's the most intractable public policy problem the U.S. faces? Health care. I don't think any other issue even comes close. Health care has all the ideological fireworks of social issues like abortion or gay marriage (e.g. is health care a right or a privilege?). Yet the system itself -- the process of providing care and allocating those costs -- is also stunningly complex.Health care is increasingly expensive because of powerful, perhaps inexorable economic forces that make medical care different than all other goods and services in a modern economy. Here are my top 10 reasons for why health care is so expensive -- and likely to get even more expensive in the future, regardless of what patches we put on the system.

GRANVILLE, Vt. - The biggest investment Daniel Hewitt made on his sheep farm was a cheese plant that features a tasting room with a view — visitors can watch the art of cheesemaking while sampling his European-style tommes and blue cheeses.ADVERTISEMENTHewitt's Three Owls Farm is located in the heart of the Vermont cheese trail, where artisan cheesemakers welcome visitors to their dairy farms in hopes of educating customers about their craft and drumming up business.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Who will care for seniors? As guardians help, exploitation is feared.

Who will care for seniors?As guardians help, exploitation is fearedBy MEG HECKMANMonitor staffOctober 15. 2006 10:00AMIt's increasingly difficult for New Hampshire's judges to find guardians for seniors who are too ill to make decisions about their health care and finances.As a result, courts are relying for the first time on private businesses that profit from supervising frail elders. These guardians can pay bills, make medical decisions and decide where the senior lives. Sometimes they referee family disputes or untangle decades of messy bookkeeping. Often, they serve as guides through the medical, financial and emotional complexities of aging."When you have an outside guardian, you can go about the business of being a family, and let me take care of all the junk," said Jeannette Marino, a guardian from Concord. "I'm not there to tell you what to do. I'm you're customer representative. What do you want me to do?"

Online White Board

Web site Vyew (think view) lets you collaborate in real-time with other users in a web based meeting room.You can either start an anonymous meeting (requires no registration) and invite up to 2 users, or, if you go through the free registration, you can invite up to 20 participants and get a few other members-only benefits. Vyew offers photo sharing, whiteboarding, file sharing, screen captures, and can run from your browser without the need to download anything (sort of). Vyew requires Flash and Java. Check out the video demonstration if you want a better idea of how it works.Vyew

Real Estate: The Shifting Calculus of Buying a House

The Wall Street Journal OnlineBy James R. Hagerty and Anjali AthavaleyReport Predicts Price Declines In 100 U.S. Cities Over Next Few Years; Sitting Tight in BrooklynHome buyers have another reason to sit on their hands.In the latest news from the slumping U.S. housing market, a report released this week says that median house prices are likely to decline more than 10% over the next few years in 20 metro areas, including Las Vegas, Tucson, Ariz., and Washington, D.C.

Bangladesh's banker to the poor wins Nobel Peace Prize

Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus, dubbed the "Banker to the Poor," and his Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping millions escape the poverty trap through a system of small-scale loans.ADVERTISEMENTBorrowers use the micro-credit scheme to buy their own tools and equipment, or even mobile phones, thus cutting out the middlemen and transforming their lives through self-employment.Ole Danbolt Mjoes, the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said: "Lasting peace cannot be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty. Micro-credit is one such means."Muhammad Yunus has shown himself to be a leader who has managed to translate visions into practical action for the benefit of millions of people, not only in Bangladesh, but also in many other countries."Yunus began fighting poverty during a 1974 famine in Bangladesh with a loan of 27 dollars to save a group of villagers from the clutches of moneylenders

The Top 10 Reasons for Soaring Health-Care Costs

by Charles WheelanUtility Links * Printable View * Email this PageWednesday, March 1, 2006[Charles Wheelan, Ph.D.]What's the most intractable public policy problem the U.S. faces? Health care. I don't think any other issue even comes close. Health care has all the ideological fireworks of social issues like abortion or gay marriage (e.g. is health care a right or a privilege?). Yet the system itself -- the process of providing care and allocating those costs -- is also stunningly complex.Health care is increasingly expensive because of powerful, perhaps inexorable economic forces that make medical care different than all other goods and services in a modern economy. Here are my top 10 reasons for why health care is so expensive -- and likely to get even more expensive in the future, regardless of what patches we put on the system.

Friday, October 13, 2006

People power: U.S. to top 300 million

(CNN) -- At 7:46 ET Tuesday morning, the United States will become a nation of 300 million people, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates.Fueled by an estimated net gain of one person every 11 seconds, America -- already the world's third most populous country -- will join China and India with populations greater than 300 million.The main reason is simple: Births outnumber deaths. According to the Census Bureau, a child is born every seven seconds, but a death occurs every 13 seconds.

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Listen to Classical Music Here.

Other ways to listen to Discovering MusicA-Z online audio archiveListen online to our extensive archive listed on this page.In the Radio PlayerListen to each prgramme in the BBC Radio Player for 7 days after broadcast.

Saturday, October 07, 2006

20 Questions with NATASHA VITA-MORE

For those who already know of Natasha Vita-More, no introduction is needed. For those unfamiliar with her, suffice it to say she is a HUGE thinker not just in the world of technology, but in the world of ideas. Her scope goes far beyond one or two focus groups and covers art, technology, fashion, science, politics, sex, religion...from primitive past to brilliant & kaleidoscopic future.

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Lights out in Iceland for view of night sky

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - The lights are going out in Iceland this week so people can gaze at the night sky.ADVERTISEMENTAuthorities in the capital Reykjavik will turn off street lights on Thursday evening and people are also being encouraged to sit in their houses in the dark, writer Andri Snaer Magnason said on Wednesday.While the lights are out, an astronomer will describe the night sky over national radio... (more)

Hooked on a Horse: My Barbaro!

Injury aside, Barbaro's feeling good - for nowBy Andrew CarterThe Orlando Sentinel(MCT)ORLANDO, Fla. - There are times when the surgeon wants to believe, like everyone else, that Barbaro will survive, no question. The Kentucky Derby winner has been close to death twice in the past four months, but he looks so good these days.He goes outside the intensive care unit at New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pa., and grazes daily. He's happy. Everyone is hopeful.

A new wrinkle on aging

By PEGGY TOWNSENDSENTINEL STAFF WRITER

John Robbins flips his 51/2-year-old grandson upside down, giving him a gravity-defying walk on the ceiling and making the straw-haired little boy grin.You might expect the man who wrote a book about living healthfully into old age to say that the key to a long life is in the bowls filled with fresh fruit that sit on his kitchen counter.Or on the hard-packed dirt trails he runs behind his Soquel home.Or even in the deep, outdoor tub of frigid water in which Robbins dunks himself three or four times a day.But it is this simple act with his grandchild that he would count as the most important predictor of a long and healthy life."If I were to ask only one question of a person to predict their health outcome," Robbins says later, "I wouldn't be asking about smoking or cholesterol or high blood pressure."The question would be: What is the level of love in your life?"

Friday, September 29, 2006

Craigslist founder says he won't cash in

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The founder of craigslist, the free social networking and classifieds Web site, said on Thursday he is not interested in selling out, a few hours after social networking site MySpace was valued at $15 billion."Who needs the money? We don't really care," Craig Newmark said in an interview at the Picnic '06 Cross Media Week conference here."If you're living comfortably, what's the point of having more?" Newmark said.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Go big or go home? How about go small at home?

WASHINGTON -- One of the big trends in today's furniture is small.Sofas are shorter and chairs are armless. Console tables that fit snugly in hallways or behind couches open up to seat eight for dinner. Beds are being shown with headboards but no footboards, or resting atop storage units. Major furniture chains are promoting lines with names such as Small Spaces and Loft 21 to catch the latest home-decor wave."We absolutely, positively have scale-sensitive furniture," says Dixon Bartlett, senior vice president of Atlanta-based Storehouse, which last week launched a collection designed specifically "with smaller spaces in mind. Even in the suburbs, there is always that extra small room."... (more)

How to Work Less and Get More Done

We live in an interesting time. Television and advertising dominate our lives. They lead us to believe things happen quickly. Watch an hour of television tonight. During that time you may see a crime committed and solved, or someone become a millionaire. In between these shows, you’ll see commercials... (more)